Drayson Racing Zooms To New Electric Race Car Record

Back in April, Drayson Racing Technologies put the auto world on notice when it announced that it was planning on breaking the FIA World Electric Land Speed Record.

Well, consider the record broken.

Led by former British science minister and racecar driver, Lord Paul Drayson, Drayson Racing achieved the goal it set for itself two months ago, setting a new land speed world record for an electric car in the FIA’s sub-1,000 kg category.

Using a heavily modified version of the B12 69/EV Le Mans prototype that was originally developed to compete in the American Le Mans Series, Drayson managed to clock in a top speed of 204.185 mph, head and shoulders clear of the 175 mph record set by Battery Box General Electric back in 1974.

image via Drayson Racing

Although the record is impressive whichever way you look at it, it still falls way short of the current world electric car land speed record. That distinction belongs to Venturi, who in 2010 was able to completely set itself apart with a top speed of 307.7 mph.

Despite the catch of setting a record using an FIA-sanctioned vehicle, Drayson Racing’s achievement is no less impressive, particularly given the obvious challenges of having to attempt a record with a car as lightweight as the B12 69/EV Le Mans prototype.

Congratulations to Lord Paul Drayson and the entire team over at Drayson Racing. Well-deserved record, if you ask us.

B12 69/EV Le Mans Prototype

Developed on a carbon Lola LMP1 chassis and powered by 4 axial flux motors (2 per rear wheel) with integrated transmission, the B12 69/EV gave the folks over at Drayson Racing the hope of breaking a record that has lasted for almost 40 years.

It took some time building and developing the car, but in the end, it paid off handsomely to the tune of 850 horsepower on tap. This system delivers a total of 850 horsepower and takes its power from a carbon battery cell integrated into the chassis.

Taken together, you can understand why the B12 69/EV is supremely quick off the block. It was light and powerful all rolled into one.